

























































GROWTH IN SILENCE 



Third Edition 




Copyright, 1905, 
By Susanna Cocroft 


V 

MAY 29 1914 


Published by the 
Headington Publishing Company 
624 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, III. 




KNOW THYSELF SERIES 













/ 

















GROWTH IN SILENCE 


BY 

Susanna Cocroft 

n 

AUTHOR OF 

Aids to Beauty 
Self-Sufficiency 
The Vital Organs 
Poise and Symmetry of Figure 
Character as Expressed in the Body 
Ideals and Privileges of Woman 
Etc., Etc. 

ORIGINATOR OF THE 

Physical Culture Extension Society 


First Edition, 1905 
Second Edition, 1911 
Third Edition, 1914 

) 

* * o 

•> 1 

9 * 



PUBLISHED BY THE 

Headington Publishing Company 
624 S. Michigan Ave„ Chicago, III. 


are swelling with fragrance; the birds nigh 
burst their throats in the ecstasy of a new 
song. 

Mental forces adjust themselves under 
cover of the night, and thoughts in the 
evening confusion, by morning are clear 
and unruffled, ready for the fresh begin¬ 
ning. Do not stir up the contention of 
yesterday—carve the future upon the clear 
depths of today. 

Does some solitary one awaken down¬ 
cast, heavy hearted, with drooping should¬ 
ers, clouded face and careworn brow, a 
discordant note, out of harmony with the 
song of the universe? Lift chest, head and 
eyes,—fill the lungs to overflowing with 
pure fresh air and let the sunshine in,— 
then be passive—listen!—all nature is 
glad. Let the joyous melody of the uni¬ 
verse lift you up! up! up! until your soul 
is filled with joy at the thought of being 
a part of the greatness of life; the oppor¬ 
tunity for expansion, for growth, for free¬ 
dom is yours. 

Were your nerves in such poise that 
yesterday’s conditions worried you—did 
you see life through a cloud darkly? To- 
12 


day’s horizon is clear; the clouds are be¬ 
hind— today is to carve . 

To plod through life with downcast eyes, 
doing things of slight account, with mental 
forces fixed alone upon the materials of 
life means to cramp the spirit, to miss the 
broader view, the exhilaration of the deep 
draughts of air,—means to fail to expand 
to the larger compass. 

When the starved heart needs nourish¬ 
ment, when things go wrong, when 
troubles loom mountains high, turn your 
thoughts to your blessings; go into the 
sunshine where the blessings are seen more 
clearly. Give place to the beautiful, to the 
enobling purposes of life, keep mind and 
heart fixed upon the true, the good; they 
will become highlights from your new point 
of view. Give to the annoying little things 
small space—trifles are but bubbles, soon 
to burst in air. Kindly thoughts dispel 
all wrong, all gloom, and as you form the 
habit of looking for the good—your list 
will multiply and the heart will be fed full 
of the gladness of living. 

The world is full of the beauty of doing 
and of being, but sometimes the point of 
13 


view of one’s own mind needs lifting to a 
higher plane, that the blessings may stand 
out clearly. 

Open the windows of the soul—then be 
quiet. Listen!—there is a message for 
you:— 44 Behold, I bring you good tidings 
of great joy, which shall be to all people.” 
i 1 Peace, My peace I give unto you . 9 9 

The world is the nursery of the race. 
It is an uncultivated garden prepared by 
an Infinite God for little children. Season 
succeeds season with nourishment for 
fruition; kind deeds succeed kind impulses 
and hearts and lives expand and grow, 
while brooding over all is the love and 
hovering presence of the Father. No¬ 
where in all earth’s confines can one of the 
unknowing, helpless ones go beyond His 
protection or be really harmed. The con¬ 
fines of the enclosure are secure. 

He made the world and said, “It is 
good. ’ ’ He pronounced upon it His sacred 
benediction,—“Peace on earth,—good will 
toward men . 99 —What a balm to troubled 
spirits to feel the good will of the Father 
towards Earth’s children, to feel this 

14 


“Good Will / 9 this “Peace on Earth’’ per¬ 
meate our very being! 

What need for worry or for fear! 

Receptivity We are learnin & a new psychology 
—the advantage of receptivity over 
inward strife. 

“ Remember that we do not have to fight, 
we do not have to struggle, we only have 
to hnow.” 

As the windows of the morning are un¬ 
barred, the windows of the soul should 
open wide that the sunshine, the inspira¬ 
tion, the love-light of God’s countenance 
may pour in as He bids you a cheery good 
morning. He sends His greeting through 
the twittering birds, the breath of the 
flowers, the murmuring night wind, the 
voices of the children, the sparkling wave, 
the mountain grandeur, and the deep sea 
roar. 

Before each day’s contact with life be¬ 
gins, listen for the voice of stillness, call¬ 
ing you into harmony with nature, draw¬ 
ing you to the sweet naturalness of your 
own being. Take time each morning to let 
this quiet permeate your being, and you 
will begin the day in poise. You will save 

15 


yourself the annoyance, the noise, of haste. 

To yield one’s self,—to feel a part of all 
life, of all growth is to give Nature a 
chance to attune body, mind and soul to the 
harmony of the universe,—from this re¬ 
ceptive attitude growth begins. This key¬ 
note firmly fixed, the fullness of life has 
begun, and the little annoyances which 
otherwise make much of life, are hut acci¬ 
dentals ; they do not affect the keynote nor 
the swell of the undertone. 

We are learning that to let go means 
to hold with a more potent force; that to 
listen to the Divine voice of the melody 
within means to let go the “tin soldier” 
trivialities. 

One great secret of power is repose. In 
the state of repose from a nature at rest, 
God uses us in a more subtle way than 
when our forces are turbulent with over¬ 
work as a result of too strenuous 
efforts. 

Struggling amid a sea of perplexities 
only exhausts. Let go, until heart and 
brain are stronger, the muddy water will 
be dispelled by the radiance of a serene 
16 


mental poise and the important objects on 
the surface will be clearly discernible. 

Remember life in its fullness is yours; 
you do not need to struggle—just accept, 
heaven is not won by striving; you are 
born to its fullness—you only need to be 
happy and to know. You inherit purity, 
love, goodness. They are within. Look, 
you will find them. They are only waiting 
to be recognized,—then they will radiate 
sunshine to others. 

Flowers do not grow to perfection by 
constant buffeting against the elements. 
They require sunshine, warmth, nourish¬ 
ment and light. Your light and love are 
from within—your heart is the garden- 
keep it warm, nourish it with kind, loving 
thoughts. 

Relax into the naturalness of your own 
being. Touch bottom,—be yourself—then 
LISTEN—you will find the best, the truth 
within you pulsing for expansion. It is 
within the deep holy of holies of self which 
no one but you can enter. 

We actually do most for others by lead¬ 
ing them into harmony with self, by mak¬ 
ing them feel the beauties of life—and the 

17 


human touch of it. The true being grows 
stronger in this harmony—the best within 
us sprouts and grows from this natural 
atmosphere. 

Let go and listen. 

To be, not to seem; to distinguish the 
true from the false; to see beauty and 
to find inspiration in the simple things of 
life; to keep the mind receptive, sweet and 
serene, with a spirit which reaches out in 
true helpfulness—these are the vibrant 
notes of happiness; thus do we grow, thus 
are we of value to our friends and to our¬ 
selves. 

Spend a little time each day in silence— 
in the depths of the billows which never 
break on the beach, listening for guidance 
to the underswell of life to know in what 
direction it is bearing you. So shall you 
be borne strongly and steadily onward and 
upward to a vantage ground where you 
see life from the hill crest. 

Man is given mental forces capable of 
poise too deep for wind or wave. “ Hitch 
your chariot to a star,” says Emerson and 
the pebbles upon the surface cause slight 
18 


friction. Little things which once annoyed 
become trifles, light as air. 

To meet the day, to make the best de¬ 
velopment in the life which the new day 
heralds, to be strong and such complete 
master of self that all impression made 
upon the lives of others be for uplift, for 
gladness and goodness, one must have uni- 
from development — must have perfect 
poise. 

The attitude of mind with which we ap¬ 
proach a subject determines the amount 
and character of good or ill we carry away. 
We are to hear a lecture by one who has 
won a world-wide reputation; we go ex¬ 
pectant, with mind, heart and soul, eager 
to drink in and as we drink we are filled. 
Another, of whom we have heard unfavor¬ 
able comment, may give the same lecture, 
but in our critical mood we close our mind 
to the good, and dwelling upon flaws, which 
in our expectant, positive state we did not 
see, we get only a partial help. 

The music is not in the singer’s voice, 
it is not in the sound wave, it is in the 
responsive vibration of the ear drum and 
the mental sensation produced upon the 

19 


listener,—it is in the respondent soul vi¬ 
bration. 

Poise is balance, is equilibrium, equa¬ 
nimity, equity. It presupposes perfect 
physical development, mental balance, 
spiritual receptivity. 

Emerson says: “That man is well 
poised who, in the midst of a crowd, can 
keep with perfect sweetness the serenity 
of solitude.” 

A well poised mind finds i + physical ex¬ 
pression in head erect, the back of the neck 
nearly straight, the shoulders level, the 
chest and lungs well developed, the spine 
nearly straight to the waist and the hips 
well back,—the whole being expressing up¬ 
rightness, a tendency to reach upward, to 
lift one’s very being to the heights,—this 
is the expression of freedom, mental, 
moral and physical. 

The Man of Galilee was a perfect ex¬ 
ample of poise — physical, mental and 
spiritual. 

Narrow chests, facial muscles drawn to¬ 
wards the center, eyes drawn in, shoulders 
forward and rounding, express the self- 
centered, the narrow minded. It is as if 
20 


the mental veil were folded about in such 
a way as neither to allow the sunlight to 
flood the soul from without nor to allow 
it to expand and to grow from within. 
The door of the soul locked, each knock 
is met with suspicion. Every man, every 
approach is deemed antagonistic until 
proven friendly. This mental poise 
means tense nerves; if habitual it means 
grooves worn in the brain, so deep that 
thought naturally flows through these 
channels, and, as with wrinkles on the face, 
constant care in directing the thoughts to 
other channels is necessary to smoothe the 
surface of the brain. 

The habit of drooping the back and the 
shoulders, of carrying the head forward 
and down, of keeping the eyes chained to 
the ground, instead of raised above their 
level to an equanimity, a balance, a poise 
above pebbles, expresses the plodder, it is 
so suggestive of the struggle we make in 
constantly groveling with trivial things at 
our feet 

“Things are in the saddle, 

And ride mankind.” 

As you cultivate the habit of carrying 
the head, chest and eyes level, note how the 
21 


entire universe is lifted to the same plane. 
As yon lift chest, head and eyes, lift body, 
mind and sonl—then be passive, he silent, 
let God pour in His sunlight and expand 
to it. 

We see the world from our mental poise, 
our own view point. Does it seem lonely 
or unkind?—look within. Perhaps your 
mental balance needs adjusting, perhaps 
the circulation through the vital organs 
needs quickening, the lungs an air bath, or 
the nerve force may need distributing by 
a systematic series of dynamic breathing 
exercises, accompanied by exercise for 
mental concentration. 

Remember man’s natural poise, his 
birthright is to meet the day with a thrill 
of joy at being alive. 

Life is an expression of power 
Trhiity Uman an( ^ ^ orm > and eac ^ individual is 
an entity—a kingdom, with com¬ 
plete temporal power over self and ma¬ 
terial creation. 

Each, to be his strongest self, must stand 
like Pompey’s pillar, ‘‘ conspicuous by 
one’s self and single in integrity.” A 
perfect equanimity is required to adjust 

22 


these individual rulers and their domin¬ 
ions, each to the other, and yet preserve 
the integrity, liberty and freedom of each. 

A perfect physical body, a well poised, 
well developed mind, and a soul in tune 
with the Infinite, constitute the human 
trinity. The possibilities of development 
within this trinity are illimitable. Given a 
body, sound in every vital function; 
supple, free and buoyant in movement; 
plastic for reflection, for ready expression 
of every shade of thought; pliable as the 
paint with which the artist expresses his 
ideal on canvas, or the clay from which the 
sculptor moulds his ideal into his model; 
a mind in perfect adjustment, realizing 
complete mastery over self, and dominion, 
tempered with mercy, over material and 
brute forces, receptive and ready for ex¬ 
pansion and growth; a spirit vibrating in 
tune with the Infinite, swaying and wield¬ 
ing subtle spirit forces, receiving and giv¬ 
ing soul impulse as communicated by the 
Creator through the avenues of mind and 
soul—a well poised mind, a perfect phy¬ 
sical expression, a receptive soul—what a 
power is there! What a privilege, what a 

23 


delight to develop the trinity!—Ah! the 
possibilities of life must bid ns pause. 

It is no longer considered a mark 

Health a 0 f distinction to be termed deli- 

Privileee 

and a Duty cate. ^ en an ^ women take a just 
pride in being physically, mentally 
and morally sound; yet on every hand are 
men and women badly poised, ungraceful, 
crippled, halt and blind, suggesting limita¬ 
tion along many lines, and much time and 
thought are necessarily given to these 
limitations, which might otherwise be 
turned to growth. 

Ignorance of the simple laws of health 
is filling large sanitariums. Hundreds of 
dollars and much time are spent upon 
medicines and stimulants instead of in 
thought and study of how to keep in har¬ 
mony with Nature’s laws. 

The growing tendency toward physical 
culture, the gymnasium, the natatorium 
and out-of-door sports is a step in the right 
direction and is freeing body, mind and 
soul, which will tell for wholesome 
strength in generations to come. 

There is a bondage darker than that of 
which Wendell Phillips so eloquently 

24 


spoke, and countless millions of all races 
are suffering. It is the bondage of the 
mental and spiritual to the physical. Free 
it! Do not allow mind and spirit to be 
subservient, so that the physical is the 
positive force and the mental and spiritual 
the negative. Awake to the possibilities 
of the positive, mental intelligence control¬ 
ling the flesh and blood, and the spirit will 
awaken to the strength and radiance of the 
‘ ‘white light which beats upon the 
throne . 9 ’ 

True, a strong, pure spirit can conquer 
bodily conditions and shine through any 
form; but a sound mind thrives best in a 
sound body;—it is as a lily growing out of 
rich soil, its color is clearer, it radiates life 
and beauty in its exhilarating purity and 
strength. 

The true physical culturist, who has 
worked along the lines of the spiritual and 
the mental, as well as the physical, has 
watched souls, bound by physical limita¬ 
tions, expand and blossom as a rose when 
the physical is freed. She has seen faces 
and forms, at first expressing entire dom¬ 
inance of physical passions over mental 

25 


and spirit force, develop as the flowers of 
springtime creep up from the moist, fertile 
soil and enfold in full fruition, until they 

“Became the sweet presence of a good diffused.” 

We are given a temple beautiful, 

Beaudfiff Ple P er ^ ec ^ ^ or the dwelling a 
soul. To keep it beautiful, free, 
pliable and abounding with native grace 
and force, a ready means of expressing 
and reflecting the God-head, is a sacred 
trust. Yet many an earnest, misguided 
woman is so engrossed in keeping the 
house of boards and mortar, with which 
the physical body is sheltered, and the 
clothing with which it is covered in order, 
that she completely wears out the body, 
forgetting that the house was made for the 
comfort of the individual, rather than the 
individual for the care of the house—and 
God’s soul temple is worn out in the effort. 

Think of it! Her family may be starving 
for the inspiration to right living, for the 
warmth and tenderness which she has no 
time to give, or which she is too tired to 
give. She begrudges a few moments a 

day for care of her health forgetting that 
26 


life culture is her first duty, and that the 
care of self means as much as the care of 
this human house,—means more than fur¬ 
niture and fabric. 

“Cherish your body, for God made it great; 

It has a guest of might and high estate; 

Keep the shrine noble, handsome, high and 
whole, 

For in it lives God’s guest, a kingly soul.” 

One’s habitual thoughts, summed 
Character U p j n the word Character, are re- 
The Body nected upon the face and form as 

^ definitely as the features are im¬ 

agined in clear water, and he who runs may 
read the inner life reflected upon the outer. 
The face and form are the soul’s mirror 
and they speak with a million tongues. 

To the close student of human express¬ 
ion there is no deceiving, there can be no 
appearing, for the very thought which 
stimulated the pretense is reflected in deli¬ 
cate tracery upon face and form, and in 
subtle movement and voice; it is recognized 
as an effort to seem, not to be. 

We unconsciously read a man’s charac¬ 
ter while he speaks to us; his past thoughts 
clamor louder through face and form than 
do his present thoughts through the voice; 

27 


4 4 How can I hear what yon say, when what 
yon are is forever thundering in my 
ears?” 

Art would be meaningless, marble and 
canvas would be meaningless, did not 
thoughts carve themselves in muscular 
outline. The lowering brow,the sunken 
chest, the droop at the corners of the eye, 
and the mouth, the upright poise, the buoy¬ 
ant step, each has its expression—they tell 
where lines have been carved deepest, 
where the high lights and the shadows lie. 

That artificial teaching, therefore, which 
works for grace of movement from with¬ 
out, expresses its own shallowness. True 
grace is graciousness and from within; 
but the surface kept free and sensitized, 
more readily reflects the image. 

The artist who uses the nude as a means 
of spiritual expression, is educating the 
world to see it in its true light. The sym¬ 
metrical curves, outlines and movements 
of the human form are the most perfect 
expressions of true art in nature, and the 
man or woman, who is blind to the ideal, to 
the spiritual in the bodily expression who 
tells us that the nude in art is immodest, 
28 


needs the artistic sense developed—needs 
lifting out of the mere physical. “To the 
good all things are good, to the pure all 
things are pure.” 

The body is the work of the Divine 
Artist—all other art is but finite imitation. 

Artists portray the Man of Gallilee as 
the “ Lowly Nazarene”,—one bent under 
the weight of his burden; His facial and 
bodily outlines expressing depression, des¬ 
pondency and submission. This attitude, 
this physical expression is entirely at 
variance with His nature. 

A little above the average in size, of per¬ 
fect health, of magnificent carriage, free 
movement, head up and well poised upon 
square shoulders expressing patience,— 
His whole bearing must have denoted His 
completeness, His high purpose and His 
consciousness of its fulfillment. Moving 
at ease among all classes of men,—in the 
Sanhedrin, at the court of Pontius Pilate, 
before Herod the Great, His physical bear¬ 
ing expressed the ease, dignity and 
strength of a man who had come to estab¬ 
lish his kingdom in the heart of man over 
the universe; not the woe-begone, despon- 

29 


dent burden- bearer, as portrayed by many 
artists. He knew it would be established, 
not in Jerusalem, not in the Roman empire, 
but in the Universe—“and I, if I be lifted 
up, will draw all men unto me.” “Not 
“perhaps”, but “I will”. 

He never failed in anything He under¬ 
took. He said “I will”, and the world is 
coming to Him in multitudes,—not all in 
the same caravan, but each according to 
his nature; there never was a time when 
men followed the standard bearer and 
marched so surely and steadfastly to 
victory. 

Perhaps it is because, in the present 
state of enlightenment, we recognize that 
all need not be burden bearers to be His 
followers. Some may plod the valleys, 
some may leap from hill crest to hill crest- 
some do not even need the regeneration— 
they were His in the cradle; they are 
thankfully, happily His to the grave. 

Healthful thoughts open the channels 
Health f or the flow 0 f lif e and tune the entire 
Character system to exquisite harmony. Were 
our ears so attuned that life’s forces 
could be heard; could any stethoscope so 

30 


magnify the sound waves that every move¬ 
ment of the blood coursing through the 
veins, the nerve force flowing through its 
channels the soul force, be heard, methinks 
the whole would make exquisite harmony 
and any discord would give the cue to a 
function out of tune. 

“There’s not the smallest orb which thou be- 
hold’st, 

But in his motion like an angel sings, 

Still quiring to the young-eyed cherubims: 

Such harmony is in immortal souls; 

But whilst this muddy vesture of decay 

Doth grossly close it in, we cannot hear it.” 

—Shakespeare. 

This directing the thoughts along the 
healthful channels of good will and har¬ 
mony is largely a matter of will power,— 
it is a matter of character. 

Is health then a matter of character? 
Largely, unless some part of the human 
mechanism be injured beyond the power 
of the system to repair, or unless the 
germs of disease have so multiplied as to 
have become the unconquering, predomin¬ 
ating force. 

“Time alone relieves the foolish from 
sorrow but reason the wise.” 


31 


If a woman’s nerves be out of con¬ 
dition, she is advised to go on a trip or to 
change her surroundings, that her habits 
of thought may change and the sets of 
nerves which have been overworked, be¬ 
cause of the mind dwelling constantly 
upon certain themes, may relax and other 
nerve centers be called into play. If she 
have the strength of character and will 
power to change her thoughts, in her pre¬ 
sent environment, and the happy disposi¬ 
tion to make that environment pleasant, 
so that her nerves regain a normal poise, 
she need not wander over the globe in 
search of health. It may be waiting on 
her own doorstep. Her thoughts may be 
changed by directing her reading along 
helpful channels. 

A line of thought, persisted in, works 
grooves in the brain; the result is insanity 
—insanity along one line of thought. One 
writer voices this great truth: 1i Women 
are dying every day and doctors call it 
some new-fangled disease or other, when 
if the truth were known it is in worrying 
over things which never happen and in 

32 


waiting and hoping for things which never 
come. ’ ’ 

Truly thoughts are potent forces. Dis¬ 
agreeable thoughts persisted in affect the 
nerves and cause illness. More people 
break down from worry than from work, 
and so much of the worry of life is over 
things which never happen. 

“Yesterday has gone, forget it; 

Tomorrow never comes, don’t worry; 

Today is here, use it.” 

Cheerful, bright, exhilarating thoughts, 
good will toward all mankind, put brain 
and nerves in a natural poise and the result 
is health. This vital principle is so general 
that, as a rule, a strongly pessimistic per¬ 
son is usually fleshless, while optimism 
goes hand in hand with plumpness and 
good cheer. 

We need to change our habits of think¬ 
ing and to realize our own inherent 
strength. Many, who by their very na¬ 
ture should be masters of material condi¬ 
tions, allow numberless forces, insignifi¬ 
cant in themselves, to master them. Given 
dominion over the birds of the air and the 
fishes of the sea, man is an abject slavery 
to a draught of air. 

33 


Ah that he might claim his heritage of 
health, strength, freedom and dominion!— 
and first of all dominion over self. 

God bless the cheery, jovial faces! 

the°Saving They d ° m0re good in the world ’ 
they radiate more wholesome life 

force, they inspire ns more with the im¬ 
pulse to do and to be than a whole regi¬ 
ment of earnest workers, wearing them¬ 
selves and others out in strenuous, doleful 
efforts to do good. In their over-exertion 
and intensity of interest they often defeat 
their purpose of shedding happiness. 

The large, open heart, ready to see and 
to drink in all that is good in the universe, 
opens the lines of the face, good will radi¬ 
ates and the frank, kindly smile calls forth 
another smile. Such good nature is riches 
beyond comparison. 

4 ‘Keep thy heart with all diligence, for 
out of it are the issues of life.” The at¬ 
mosphere of a full heart, of good will, of 
peace, puts the nerves into a positive state 
for the free flow of health and vitality. It 
is as if the forces of mind and body were 
opened for the fullness of Power and 
Plenty to permeate and to control. It is 

34 


this positive, active exhilaration, it is this 
growth, which, reacting upon the mind and 
body, makes life worth living. “Life is 
an ecstacy—anything else is not worth the 
living . 9 9 

The positive, mental poise is the health 
saving. It takes strong will power and a 
fixed habit of looking upon the bright side, 
of looking for good, to build up a badly 
impaired physical condition but it is done 
every day—each day many a crown is won. 
Many a man is master of self and ruler in¬ 
deed. 

Magnetism, Influence and Power are 
Powei* Ve crea ^ e( ^ within, and this very crea¬ 
tive force makes environment, makes 
the surrounding atmosphere and attracts 
outward influences as a magnet to still 
further increase the power. Let no man 
say I am not thus and so for lack of oppor¬ 
tunity, “because of my environment.’’ Let 
him listen with soul, not ear, to the crea¬ 
tive force within, feel it grow, expand, up¬ 
lift, and no environment which man has 
made can prevent the bud bursting into 
blossom. He will rise as a positive, grow¬ 
ing force, sufficiently strong, either to 

35 


change his present environment, or to 
find a new one. The germ of ambition is 
well nigh unquenchable. 

Success does not always mean success 
from a worldly standpoint. Men and 
women in palaces are dying daily, from 
dwarfed lives, from heart starvation, who 
would gladly change places with the low¬ 
liest peasant whose heart is fed to full¬ 
ness. Success means consciousness of the 
power and kinship Christ felt when he 
said, “ If I be lifted up I will draw all men 
unto me.” 

If you have been in the whirl of life, 
busy over small things or great, in order 
to gain this conscious power you need to 
be alone, to live with yourself, until, for a 
time, you can be unconscious of your sur¬ 
roundings. Shake yourself free from fet¬ 
ters, realize that this power has naught to 
do with hurry. It means that you 
touch the naturalness of your being, that 
you fully comprehend the meaning of I 
AM—After fully realizing your part of 
the creative force, the “I WILL” de¬ 
mands recognition. 

To be alone, to take a few moments of 

36 


rest each day in the quiet of your own 
nature, means to do with a purpose, when 
you emerge from the quiet. The world 
will never know the silent power growing 
out of the forty days in the wilderness. 

Every man and every woman, growing, 
expanding to their best, must feel this kin¬ 
ship of power, must feel the strong depth, 
the fullness of the expansive life, which 
results from the knowledge of one’s power 
with God to create, to draw unto self dyna¬ 
mic force, to create one’s own atmosphere 
and by this atmosphere to wield influence 
and set in motion other forces. 

In order to feel the fullness of this 
growth, one must attain physical and 
mental, as well as spiritual strength. To 
gain magnetic, creative power every phy¬ 
sical function must vibrate strong life in 
perfect soundness of every organ; the 
blood must be kept pure and strong by 
circulating, nourishing and rebuilding tis¬ 
sues; nerves, heart and lungs must be 
strong so that the physical power is con¬ 
tinuously re-created from within, drawing 
as a magnet, upon all relative forces to 
strengthen its own. Unless one feel this 
37 


positive force within, he will be sapped 
by stronger forces from without. One 
must use intelligence and will power and 
not allow the mind to be subservient to 
appetite and passion. Thought as well as 
action must be controlled. 

The greatest conquest one can make is 
victory over self—complete control of 
thoughts and nerves, so that we look over 
and beyond the little annoyances, preserv¬ 
ing under the most trying conditions the 
sweet, reposeful serenity of silence. 

A great soul will rise through buffeting 
and trials to a spirit of helpfulness, of 
whole-souled heartiness in life’s work; a 
little soul will rail at its hardships, em¬ 
bittered toward those who have kept 
shoulder to the wheel and by the helpful, 
wholesome spirit have conquered. So live 
that every friend and brother you bespeak 
in passing is stronger, better for the con¬ 
tact. 

“I will lift up mine eyes unto the 
Not^Down from whence cometh my 

help.” 

In human life as in the mountain 
regions, there are those who prefer to live 

38 


in the valleys of mere physical abundance, 
some on the hillside, and others on the 
mountain tops. The valley dwellers, from 
a worldly standpoint, often reap large 
crops. They live in the mire, eagerly 
grasping all within reach, and rankly wal¬ 
lowing in physical abundance. The atmos¬ 
phere is often stifling, they miss the exhil¬ 
aration of the refreshing breezes of the 
heights, yet the humidity, the stifling air 
gives the physical, the worldly, a rank 
yield. They miss the beautiful sunsets, 
they miss the broader vision, and while 
the rank yield has a beauty all its own, it 
suggests greed and selfishness,—rank 
growth bears no blossoms. 

Those who climb the mountain side, 
struggle with the efforts necessary to cul¬ 
tivate the soil, encounter many rocks, fell 
many trees, see the rain pass by them and 
must often feel that the result is not worth 
the effort. They must be tempted to suc¬ 
cumb to the force of gravity and to rush 
down into the valley. 

Never having reached heights, it is hard 
to comprehend the glory of the summit— 
but they “touch God’s hand in the dark- 
39 


ness and are lifted up and strengthened.’’ 
The growth on the hillside is not so rank, 
not so luxuriant as in the valley, but it is 
of a finer quality—it brings higher price. 
They have caught a glimpse of the heights 
above, their course is ever onward and 
upward, and they cannot retrace. “ ’Tis 
the set of the soul decides its goal, and not 
the wind, nor the wave.” The source of 
light is above yon hill-tops. The hands of 
those on the heights are constantly beck¬ 
oning the climber upward, picturing the 
warmth, the sunlights and the glory while 
they reach down strong hands to help the 
struggling ones. 

Those on the table-lands walk on level 
ground, their ways are ways of pleasant¬ 
ness and peace. They look down from the 
hill-crest upon the valley of ignorance 
with loving, helpful sympathy; they know 
the peace which passeth all understanding 
and are throbbing to give it out; they are 
in perfect poise, in perfect harmony. 

In positive, active, exhilarating 
of living gl a d ness let us meet life and scat¬ 
ter the bounties it has given abund¬ 
antly. 


40 


Truly, “It is more blessed to give than 
to receive, ’ ’ for in the giving we are grow¬ 
ing and contentment comes through con¬ 
sciousness of growth. 

What is education, what is knowledge, 
what is spiritual development, what is 
gladness, what is joy, but so much capital 
to give out, but an exhaustless storehouse 
from which to draw. Give out—our hands 
were made to open as well as to close— 
our arms, our features, our chests were 
made to expand. 

Remember the parable of the ten 
talents,—“in proportion as you give shall 
your store be multiplied a hundred fold,” 
—and the giving does not refer to money 
alone—give of self,—“ye have greater 
gifts than gold.” 

“He that would save his life must lose 
it,”—in the very giving—in the willing¬ 
ness to surrender self—comes the great 
blessing of the fullness. Open the store¬ 
house. Man is simply a temple of the 
Most High, from which He is ready to 
reveal Himself. He would radiate His 
light, His peace, His joy through you. 

41 


Filling the mind with a certain 

Education num ^ er ^ ac ^ s ? cramming it with 
knowledge of a given number of 
subjects is not education. Many a young 
man goes through college, with every ad¬ 
vantage money can buy, and the brother 
who has remained on the farm and with 
an attentive mind and heart, has lis¬ 
tened and applied, is the better educated 
of the two. The one has knowledge, the 
other capacity to apply, to feel, to know. 

Education is opening the shutters in 
the windows of the soul, and revealing the 
truth of nature, it is the realization of 
one’s possibilities, physical, mental and 
spiritual, is the awakening of the de¬ 
sire to see the light and to apply the beau¬ 
ties without to the beauties within,—it is 
vision power: It is man’s dignity and 
privilege to think God’s thoughts. 

True happiness, exhilarating glad- 

v[tithin CSS ness > Ml ness of joy, the ocean of 
peace are all within. Heaven is a 
condition within one’s own soul, it is not 
a state, and happiness is not found by 
wandering from shore to shore, from con¬ 
tinent to continent, with the gates of the 

42 


heart closed. Many a one rushes madly 
to the convention hall, to the ball, to the 
seashore, to the land of the midnight sun, 
to the regions of the equator, and returns 
after many a weary search, to find it in 
the song of the bird on his own thresh¬ 
old, in the heart of a rose in his own gar¬ 
den or in the silence of his own inner 
chamber. The allwise Architect uses the 
simplest means to reveal Himself unto 
man. That which he has been seeking was 
here; it is here; it needs only to be recog¬ 
nized. 

The true secret of satisfaction with life 
is in unselfish usefulness and in the habit 
of opening the mind and soul to the recog¬ 
nition of the good and the beautiful. Form 
the habit of expecting happiness, of ex¬ 
pecting joy, of expecting goodness,—and 
above all learn to look for and to expect 
goodness in others ,—“ according to thy 
faith be it unto thee.” 

Epictetus says: ‘ ‘ If man is unhappy re¬ 
member that his unhappiness is his own 
fault, for God has made all men to be 
happy. * * * No one was ever yet made 
utterly miserable, excepting by himself.” 

43 


In our complex state of society, sur¬ 
rounded by people of varied tempera¬ 
ments, of indifferent nerve force, it takes 
a strong character, a well established 
poise indeed, to hold the mental tenor of 
ecstacy. The consciousness of that exhil¬ 
arating spring within, from which the 
mental and spiritual force is constantly 
flowing, must indeed be strong to apply 
the knowledge of the never ending supply 
of “Peace, Power and Plenty.’’ 

Pity the poor soul who seemingly 


Judge Not 


regards it as a tribute to superior 


judgment to be able to detect faults in 
others and to bring those faults to the 
light, colored from her own point of view. 
Living upon the faults of others is poor 
food for the mind, lacking nourishment 
and strength. 

Gnawing at the lives of others, like para¬ 
sites, dwarfs the nature. It also affects 
the life it feeds upon, for if 11 thoughts 
are things” they must affect the one to 
whom they are directed; but by far the 
most deleterious effect must be upon the 
one who feeds upon the poison. “ Judge 
not that ye be judged, for with that meas- 

44 


ure ye meet it shall be measured to you 
again.” 

A grain of wheat will reproduce a grain 
of wheat, a thistle will reproduce a thistle, 
a rose will reproduce a rose, a beautiful 
thought will reproduce a beautiful 
thought. 

How potent for good, right, charitable 
thoughts must be, and what opportunity 
to do good by simply thinking aright! 

Women wr ^ er ^ as a ex “ 

perience with the large body of 

so-called American Club Women, who are 

striving to be, not to seem, to make the 

best of life and to help all womankind to 

see life from the hillcrest. 

God is blessing and prospering their 
work, in brighter, happier homes, more in¬ 
telligent mothers, more sympathetic help¬ 
meets and companions. In all progressive 
movements worthy the name, there will al¬ 
ways be the excess, but it takes the excess 
to make the medium, to stimulate to pro¬ 
gress. 

Woman is learning from the club to 
know herself, to realize her own compara¬ 
tive development, and from the inspira- 

45 


tion of those who are stronger, to gather 
strength and insight for growth, to fix 
higher ideals;—an ideal once fixed is half 
attained. 


Wholesome men and women there 

Within 61106 are swee ^ ha PPy faces, soul¬ 
ful with the peace within, whose 
very presence radiate love, and good 
cheer, whose serene, calm depths attract 
as a magnet, whose atmosphere whisper 
of the dignity of being, instead of doing ,— 
of seeming, of having. 

To be cheerful, bright, tender and help¬ 
ful in one’s sphere of contact is all that is 
required of us. To let no influence go out 
from self that is not helpful, is the secret 
of a happy life. To be sure of this result 
one must establish the habit of daily com¬ 
munion with her inner, better self,—must 
be sure she is true to her best self, not 
drifting. 

Woman owes it to herself, to her family, 
and to her friends to take an inviolable 
quiet hour for rest. Then when she works, 
she will accomplish, when she reposes she 
will rest, and the melody, the undertone of 
life will be fuller, richer, sweeter. 


She has learned that to be a wife, a 
mother, a homekeeper, a factor in educa¬ 
tion, in church, and in society, she needs, 
at least once a day, to retire ‘ ‘ into the 
inner chamber and to shut the door;” to 
listen to the sweet and holy music in the 
silence of her own life, audible to herself 
and to her Maker, only. “The melody 
shall be reawakened, the strings shall be 
retuned, the brush of the Divine Artist will 
retouch the panorama of her life with a 
roseate hue, will give distinctiveness to the 
perspective and will make the footpaths 
through the dark places plain.” As she 
gazes upon the picture she is lead gently 
back to the present, and takes up life’s 
duties surrounded by a halo of light; an 
atmosphere of peace, love and harmony 
pervades her. 

The little daily margin in the routine 
of life for the stillness and leisure of 
growth,—for the development from with¬ 
in,—is a time saver, it saves the waste of 
hurry and of noise. 

Marcus Aurelius says: “It is within 
thy power whenever thou shalt choose to 
rest within thyself,” but to be good com- 

47 


pany our minds must be well stored, must 
be filled with pure, helpful, peaceful 
thoughts. 

“Far out on the deep there are billows, 

Which never shall break on the beach; 

And I have had thoughts in the silence, 
Which never shall form into speech; 

And I have had dreams in the valley. 

Ah me! how my spirit was stirred, 

They float through the valley like virgins, 

Too pure for a touch or a word.” 

—Father Matthew. 

In the man or woman of strength and 
force we recognize a well, the depth of 
which we cannot fathom, a something in 
reserve better than we have been able to 
touch. It is expressed in a quiet dignity 
which puts all at ease, a balm to troubled 
spirit. 

“The still water reflects the depths.” 

It is the quiet hour of the home 
Hour ** 1 * 111 frfe’ the sil en f hour of the fireside, 
which educates, which cultivates, 
which touches the chords of harmony and 
gives the key note to the ‘ ‘ choir invisible. ’’ 
It is the silence of the “inner chamber’’ 
which touches the deep forces of the soul 
and bids them flow forth. It is from this 
force of the silence, this calm, sure seren- 

48 


ity that one radiates the beauty of life, 
that one has a vantage ground upon which 
to stand and to accomplish. 

“Only the serene soul is strong.” 

Emerson well says: “We descend to 
meet.” We drop to such trivialities, we 
let go the beautiful chords of life, when we 
discourse with our friends. 

The whole world speaks and writes and 
thinks in silence on a higher plane than it 
acts. 

It is the soul's response in the silence 
which knows ,—a few minutes of silent soul 
communion often adjusts one atmosphere 
to another and makes us to know our 
friend better than hours of conversation. 
We never really enjoy him until we are at 
home with him in silence. 

Would that in our busy world we might 
take more time for the Angelus, so that as 
the great bell rings at the sunset hour we 
may hear the deep and individual message 
of God spoken to each human heart. 
Would that once a day we might unveil the 
reverence of our being so that this bell 
might speak to each man’s soul in tones 
of solemnity, bidding him relax his toil, 
49 


let go his hold upon duties which man has 
imposed, and with uncovered head, rever¬ 
ently listen to the message of “ Peace on 
earth, good will toward men. ,, The very 
uncovering of the head, the reverent atti¬ 
tude recognizes the message: “Be silent, 
and know that I am God.” 

What an education, what a rest, what 
a humanizing impulse, what a soul growth, 
if at the sunset hour the universe would 
stand with uncovered head in naked truth, 
in silent communion, each alone with 
his Father, with his God. The disturb¬ 
ing thoughts, the turbulent waters of 
the earth would be at rest, problems 
which vex minds, small and great, would 
solve themselves. Man would be brought 
to a realization of his own depths, and of 
his own strength. 

That soul is great which, in the midst 
of a crowd, can be alone,—yet not alone, 
for he will realize the sweet companion¬ 
ship and friendship of the inner self—that 
spiritual self which knows the strength, 
the depth, the rugged serenity of the forty 
days in the wilderness—breathing and 
emanating the atmosphere of the silent, 

50 


stalwart breath of the forest, of the moun¬ 
tain and of the sea. The man who does 
not feel the strength, the uplift of the Di¬ 
vine, in silent, soulful communion with Na¬ 
ture, has not awakened to the possibilities 
within himself. 

He who falls into erring ways, does so 
because his mind and soul are dwarfed. 
He has not been awakened to possibilities. 
It may be that the great truths of life have 
been put to him in a narrower gauge than 
his nature requires, and instead of think¬ 
ing them out for himself, he closes his 
mind to the greater truth, because he does 
not like the garb in which it is presented. 
Such an one needs more of the society of 
God’s “out of doors,” instead of men. He 
needs his own thoughts adjusted under 
cover of the clear, blue sky. 

Someone has said, “I love the society 
of trees, and of flowers; they are dignity 
in gentle repose. They leave me free. 
They make no claim upon me to entertain 
or be entertained. Not one of them 
thrusts himself upon me in bustling, insig¬ 
nificant, personal importance. Not one or 
them constrains me to an ostentatious 


51 


homage. They do not pay, or claim court. 
They are grandly themselves and they per¬ 
mit me to be grandly myself. This silence 
is fruitful and life expansive. They let me 
rest within the pleasant naturalness of 
mine own being. In the harmony of their 
surrounding quiet, my soul goes out to 
them in such nearness of contact, that it 
can almost hear how they grow—almost 
see the secret by which they appropriate 
their perfect coloring and dainty grace. 
Let me remain much in their presence and 
receive their silent teaching.” 

The great soul listens, and applies. 

Dwellers in cities control and manipu¬ 
late large enterprises; they solve large 
problems of man’s forming; this desire 
for temporal, civic power shows the trend 
of man’s mind, to develop, to expand, to 
do. The very pleasure of having is in the 
satisfaction of doing—many a bubble long 
striven for, bursts, or becomes as an old 
toy when once within the grasp. 

All men to be at their best must either 
recognize an all powerful force working 
with them in their city lives, or they must 
go periodically into the silent, mighty 

52 


forces of the forest, must “put their ears 
against the earth and listen to the move¬ 
ment of the ground swell ,’ 9 must realize 
the indomitable expansion and growth in 
all nature, then the vantage point from 
which they see all life will be regained, and 
problems obscure in the confusion of men¬ 
tal clouds will become plain as seen from 
the heights. 

John Ruskin says: “To watch the corn 
grow, or the blossoms set; to draw hard 
breath over plough, shovel or spade, to 
read, to think, to love, to pray, are the 
things which make men happy.” 

For men, like the grain of the corn-field, grow 
small in the huddled crowd, 

And weak for the breath of spaces where a soul may- 
speak aloud; 

For hills, like stairways to heaven, shaming the 
level track, 

And sick with the clang of the pavements and the 
marts of the trafficking pack. 

Greatness is born of greatness, and breadth of a 
breadth profound; 

The old Antaean fable of strength renewed from 
the ground 

Was a human truth for the ages; since the hour 
of the Eden-birth 

That man among men was strongest who stood with 
his feet on the earth. 

—Sharlot Mabridth Hall. 


53 


Any experience makes for progress, 
Growth f or growth which gives us a distinct 
Freedom view 0 f ourselves, stimulates to in¬ 
dividual thought. One ought never 
to care so much for the intellectual con¬ 
clusion of today as for the broader view’ 
which tomorrow may reveal. 

Emerson says: “With consistency, oh 
fool, a great soul has simply nothing to 
do.” 

The strong man shakes himself free 
from meshes which once bound him as a 
young horse tosses his mane in delightful 
freedom and independence. Spiritual evo¬ 
lution ever tends to freedom, to fullness 
of life and self-mastery—a joyousness in 
being the free born child of a King. 

Growth comes with a complete change 
from daily thought; when one ventures 
outside of prescribed limits, dares to think 
on unwonted themes. 

No environment is so sacred, no occupa¬ 
tion so worthy, that one should not disen¬ 
gage himself from it for a season either 
to return with new life, greater freedom, 
and clearer vision or not at all. 


54 


A boat with sails spread, attempting to 
go contrary to the wind, is wasting effort 
—“He who is not for Me is Against Me.” 
The power to accomplish is outside the 
human province until we learn that all is 
good and that everything that occurs is in 
the fulfillment of an ever moving purpose. 

Beliefs, customs, habits should be the 
means to the great end, freedom, and 
never master of the soul. Freedom is in¬ 
dividual harmony, not absorption, and we 
are free in so far as we have freed the 
powers of thought, the powers of acting 
and living from our own point of view. 
The thread which shall lead us out of the 
labyrinth of ignorance into the broad light 
of day, we alone can find. We must ex¬ 
pand to the light as each individual flower 
creeps up from out the mould and unfolds 
its springtime beauty. 

This and that is a hard experi- 
Adversities ence . we bemoan our lot, but the 
only way out of it is through it. 
There can be no standing still; we either 
contract and narrow, making room for 
stronger forces, or we expand and grow 
in our constant efforts to overcome. The 


55 


going through to the goal beyond brings 
into play unused powers and ends in an 
enlarged capacity and a knowledge of that 
capacity. 

This knowledge is a new foundation 
stone. 

The errors and perplexities which go to 
the making of experience have their uses. 
“ It is by perplexity and grief that the un¬ 
tried heart masters perplexity and grief, 
and stores digested power for future con¬ 
quest/ J The man who rises to a just, 
frank and true knowledge of his own pow¬ 
ers and capabilities is half way to his 
goal. Battles are often won before they 
are fought. 

Savonarola would, under different cir¬ 
cumstances, undoubtedly have been a good 
husband, a tender father, a man unknown 
to history; but misfortune came to visit 
him, to crush his heart, and to impart that 
marked melancholy which characterizes a 
soul of grief, and the grief which circled 
his head with a crown of thorns wreathed 
it with a crown of immortality. 

“We must earn the right to rule self, 
must ascend to the superb heights where 

56 


Love, Faith, Justice and Good reign and 
radiate their purity and life-giving es¬ 
sence. The being must be bathed to clean¬ 
liness in a pure element. 

Belief in God is the uplifting power,— 
the ladder by which we scale the heights 
and which imparts a blessing in happiness, 
in a spiritual spring of joy.” 

Let us consider what it is to feel we 
t^Fear ^ave no ou ^ ra & es or ev ^ to resent, no 
slight to overlook. It is a precious 
freedom, a shedding of fetters. Naught to 
fear more than the clear, blue sky over¬ 
head, the gracious impartial sunshine and 
the loving omnipresence of God. Such re¬ 
vised manner of thinking must revise the 
manner of breathing—must revise the 
heart pulses and the manner of blood’s 
circulating—must revise the entire phy¬ 
sical expression of the divine idea of 
Good. ‘ 4 Such a relief in Good must be a 
transition from the inharmony of chaos to 
the harmony of heaven and must bring a 
fulness, a richness of life—life—life,— 
Life which is crowding the earth, the air, 
the ocean for standing room.” It is burst¬ 
ing from every seed pod and springing 
from every sea shell. 

57 


To lose all selfishness, all self-interest, 
to let go all dogma, all preconceived be¬ 
liefs, not consistent with our present 
status of growth, to open the soul is the 
only life of power. We must be ready to 
say: ‘ 4 Here am I, Lord, send me”—not 
with a broken, contrite spirit, but with 
voice and heart, mind and body strong and 
free and willing, unreserved and whole 
hearted. 

The whole import of life is expressed in 
Jacobi command to his son: “Go forth, 
I pray thee and see how it fares with thy 
brethren and return to me.” This is the 
Divine command to each of us —“Go forth 
and return to Me.” 

Let us then live up to our noblest 
Live to ideals and with mind and spirit 

Ideals fixed upon a high purpose, the 

little worries of life will merge 
into greater thoughts. Let us keep our 
hearts pure, our aspirations high and let 
no night envelop us in silence until every 
unkind thought, every wrong impulse, has 
been mellowed and dispelled. Let no sun 
set which does not bless some kindly act, 
some helpful thought, some unselfish work. 

58 


Let us cultivate a serene mental poise 
and remember that by being sweet, whole¬ 
some and true we add to the sweetness and 
to the beauty of the universe. Let us not 
lose sight of our possibilities—remember 
that the great oak is enfolded in the acorn. 

We pass through this world but once— 
we have but one opportunity for helpful¬ 
ness and kindness. Let us not neglect the 
opportunity to fill each day with gladness 
for some fellow traveler. 

So shall we leave an impress on the lives 
about us which shall tell in generations 
yet to come—“so shall we join the choir 
invisible, whose music is the gladness of 
the world/’ 

Longurn illud tempus, quum non ero, 
magis me movet, quam hoc exiguum. — Ci¬ 
cero. 

O may I join the choir invisible 
Of those immortal dead who live again 
In minds made better by their presence; live 
In pulses stirred to generosity. 

In deeds of daring rectitude, in scorn 
For miserable aims that end with self, 

In thoughts sublime that pierce the night like 
stars, 


59 


And with their mild persistence urge man’s 
search 

To vaster issues. 

So to live is heaven; 

To make undying music in the world, 
Breathing as beauteous order that controls 
With growing sway the growing life of man. 

So we inherit that sweet purity 
For which we struggled, failed and agonized, 
With widening retrospect that bred despair. 
Rebellious flesh that would not be subdued, 

A vicious parent shaming still its child 
Poor, anxious penitence, is quick dissolved; 

Its discords, quenched by meeting harmonies, 
Die in the large and charitable air. 

And all our rarer, better, truer self, 

That sobbed religiously in yearning song, 

That watched to ease the burden of the world, 
Laboriously tracing what must be, 

And what may yet be better—saw within 
A worthier image for the sanctuary, 

And shaped it forth before the multitude 
Divinely human, raising worship so 
To higher reverence more mixed with love— 
That better self shall live till human Time 
Shall fold its eyelids, and the human sky 
Be gathered like a scroll within the tomb, 
Unread forever. 

This is life to come, 

Which martyred men have made more glorious 
For us who strive to follow. May I reach 
60 


That purest heaven, be to other souls 
The cup of strength in some great agony, 
Enkindle generous ardor, feed pure love, 
Beget the smiles that have no cruelty— 

Be the sweet presence of a good diffused, 

And in diffusion ever more intense. 

So shall I join the choir invisible 
Whose music is the gladness of the world. 

George Eliot. 


61 


Books by Susanna Cocroft 


GROWTH IN SILENCE 

“Enter into thine inner chamber and shut the door.” 

‘‘There is a divine sequence, a golden thread running through 
the lives of all men and women of truly great and lasting 
power.”—R. W. Trine. 

A GOOD FIGURE—OBESITY, LEANNESS— 
(Illustrated) 

“Style is in the carriage, not in the gown.” 

“No woman is to blame for not being beautiful at sixteen, but 
she has only herself to blame if she in not' beautiful at 
forty.”—F ra Eippo. 

THE WOMAN WORTH WHILE 

“Her first duty is to herself. To be a good mother she must 
first be a perfect woman.” 

“She has not only her rights as a true woman, but the devoted 
homage and service of man.” 

THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM—Heart, Lungs, Arteries, 
Veins, Lymphatics and Blood 

This book follows the blood from the heart on its complete 
circuit of the body back to the heart. No student of physiology 
should be without it. 

BODY MANIKIN AND POSITION OF VITAL 
ORGANS 

The body manikin with but few additions is sold to physicians 
for $15.00. This manikin is printed in seven colors and in¬ 
cludes fourteen different plates, showing the muscles, blood 
vessels, nervous system, the organs of respiration, digestion 
and all other vital organs, each in its exact relation to the 
other. It enables a woman to look within her physical self 
and to understand facts about herself which it is a sin for her 
not to know. 

CHARACTER—As Expressed in the Body—(Illustrated) 

Grace, womanly dignity, self control ease of manner, laziness, 
indifference, lack of energy and ambition, moral weakness, or 
moral courage, each has its expression. Not only how to thus 
read character, but how women can best express it in herself 
is the theme of this book. 

“The secret of the highest power is in uniting the outer agencies 
of expression with the power that works from within.” 

THE NERVOUS SYSTEM—Effect of Habit upon Life 

A clear description of the nervous system, its functions and 
its influence upon various parts of the body. Many of woman’s 
physical ills are traceable to shattered nerves, and many such 
ills yield with astonishing readiness to the influence of a rightly 
directed mind. Habit is a marvelous gift of nature. Rightly 
used, it lengthens life, it is a great conserver of energy. Wrongly 
developed habit is a check to growth. 


SELF-SUFFICIENCY—Mental Poise 

“Man has two creators: The Infinite, who created the atoms 
and the laws by which the atoms take form; and himself, the 
moulder of the form, and the moulder of thought and character." 
“It is not a soul, it is not a body we are developing, but an 
individual."— Montague. 

Belief in self is the first element in success. 

FOODS—Nutritive Value and Digestibility 

Proper nutrition for the body is as vital as any study effecting 
the morals, health and the consequent power of a nation, since 
upon the kind, quality and quantity of food depend the 
sustenance, health and strength of its citizens. 

MOTHERHOOD 

The vitality, the mental capacity, the moral character of the 
child depend directly upon the strength, the character, the 
mental attitude of the mother. How woman may best equip 
herself for motherhood and how the mother may preserve herself 
and prolong her usefulness to her children, is clearly set forth 
in this lecture. 

THE VITAL ORGANS—Liver, Stomach, Intestines, 
Kidneys—their Use and Abuse 

The whole treatise is so lucid and so simply told that all can 
perfectly understand it. This book is full of practical, everyday 
health hints. 

AIDS TO BEAUTY—Skin, Hair, Eyes, Teeth, Hands, 
Feet and Ears 

No woman can be truly beautiful or wholesome who negects the 
details of her toilet. Many health and beauty hints which some 
women have paid hundreds of dollars to learn. 

PUBLISHED BY THE 

HEADINGTON PUBLISHING COMPANY 
624 Michigan Bvd., Chicago 




















































































